Selective hydrogenation of biomass-derived carbonyl compounds with highly dispersed ZIF derived catalysts

Abstract Selective hydrogenation of biomass-derived oxygenated compounds to chemical and fuel is an important but challenging issue. In this paper, Co/NC catalysts with a Co species nanoparticle size from 0.4 to 6.6 nm are prepared by controlled calcination of ZIF-67. Ru-Co/NC is obtained by highly dispersed Co nanoparticle reducing Ru precursor. Co/NC-10 with 0.4 nm Co species nanoparticle shows higher catalytic performances for selective hydrogenation of ethyl levulinate than the other Co based catalysts and results from literatures due to the highly dispersed Co species. However, Co/NC-10 presents the low hydrogenation activity for biomass-derived carbonyl compounds under milder reaction conditions. In comparison with Co/NC-10, Ru-Co/NC enhances hydrogenation performance of various biomass-derived carbonyl compounds in the presence of high dispersed Ru-Co alloy. Electron transferring from Co to Ru renders Co electropositive and Ru electronegative, facilitating adsorption and hydrogenation of C O in carbonyl compounds on the interface of Ru δ− -Co δ+ . Additionally, hydrogenation performances of ethyl levulinate and furfural remain stable on Ru-Co/NC after three cycles. This work provides an effective way for the selective hydrogenation of C O in biomass-derived compounds under mild conditions.